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International transport of dangerous goods by roadDangerous Goods and SafetySabrina MansionGeneva, 5 July 2017

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Dangerous goods: examples

3. Dangerous goods: accidents

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IntroductionTransport of dangerous goods

• Dangerous goods:– are produced and

transported in very large quantities;

– cover a very large range of products;

– present risks

Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 1: Explosives

Military ammunitions, bombs, etc (all types); Industrial explosives (dynamite…), Fireworks…

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Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 2: Divisions 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3

Gases compressed, liquefied or refrigerated

• Div. 2.1: Flammable gases

– (propane, LPG, cigarette lighters)

• Div. 2.2: Non-flammable, non-toxic gases – (air, oxygen, nitrogen, helium)

• Div.2.3: Toxic gases

– (ammonia, chlorine)

Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 3: Flammable liquids

Petroleum products, Paints, Alcoholic beverages

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Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 4: Div. 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3

• Division 4.1: Flammable solids (Ex: Sulphur, matches)• Division 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion (Ex:

phosphorus; fish meal, seed cake…)• Division 4.3: In contact with water emit flammable gases (Ex: metal

powders; sodium

Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 5: Div. 5.1 and 5.2

• Division 5.1: Oxidizing substances

– Ammonium nitrate fertilizers, hydrogen peroxide, bleaching agents

• Division 5.2: Organic peroxides

– Dibenzoyl peroxide, catalysts for polyester resin

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Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 6: Div. 6.1 and 6.2

• Div. 6.1: Toxic substances (Sodium cyanide, pesticides)

• Div. 6.2: Infectious substances (Cultures for bacteria, viruses, etc; medical diagnostic specimens, medical wastes)

Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 7: Radioactive material

Nuclear fuel,

Uranium hexafluoride,

Medical radioisotopes

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Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 8: Corrosive substances

Sulphuric acid, Caustic soda, Car batteries

Dangerous Goods (examples)Class 9: Miscellaneous

Environmentally hazardous substances; Mobile phone/computer batteries…

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Dangerous goods in limited quantities

Cosmetics, perfumes, cleaning products…

Statistics

From the statistics in the USA and in Europe, it appears that:

(a) Transport of dangerous goods increases regularly

(b) The highest volumes transported are:

• energy products (petroleum products, flammable gases)

• flammable liquids and gases (other than energy products)

• corrosive substances

(c) Road transport is by far the most used inland transport mode (in terms of quantities and of number of shipments)

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Accidents (1) – 25 June 2017

• More than 150 people killed in Pakistan last Sunday / another 50 people are still in critical condition

• 25000 litres of fuel

• The driver lost control and the vehicle overturned

• They were collecting fuel leakingfrom a tank-vehicle

• The tank exploded in a huge fireball, burning everybody on and around the spot

• Pakistan has an appalling record of fatal traffic accidents due to poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving

Accidents (2)

•1978 Los Alfaques (Spain):

– Substance involved: 43 m3

liquefied propylene

– Mode of transport: by road

– 217 people killed; 400 yards

devastated in all directions

•1990 Bangkok (Thailand):

– Substance involved: LPG

– Mode of transport: by road

– 63 people killed; 90 injured

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Accidents (3)

• 1998 Kirghizstan:

– Substance involved: 1800 kg of sodium cyanide

– Mode of transport: by road

– Hundreds of people injured due to contamination of water

• 1999 Tauerntunnel (Austria):

– Substance involved: lacquer

– Mode of transport: by road

– 12 people killed; 50 injured; close of the tunnel for 3 months, economic cost: 17 millions DM

Accidents (4)

China:

Since 2005, 11 serious accidents (more than 10 deaths, more than 50 injuries or economic losses of over 50 million yuan)

Methanol tank-vehicle explosion in Yanhou Tunnel of JinjiExpressway on Mar 1, 2014, 31 deaths

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Accidents (5)

Accidents have also negative effects on the environment. Well-known examples are oil spillages:

– Torrey-Canyon;

– Amoco Cadiz;

– Exxon Valdez;

– Erika…

although small spillages of highly toxic substances may also have disastrous effects.

Conclusion

Accidents during the transportationof dangerous goods often haveserious consequences: the socio-economic cost of a tanker accidentmay be twice as high as that of anon-dangerous goods-transportaccident due to the dangerousgoods escaping and theenvironmental and subsequentdamage.

However, compared with the accident occurrence in the transportation ofgoods in general, accidents involving dangerous goods are rare: aroundeight out of 1,000 personal injury accidents involving a goods vehicle areclassified as accidents involving dangerous goods.

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